No, the Denver Broncos wide receiver won't be forced to give up his regular jersey number (83) as part of his four-game ban announced Tuesday for reportedly testing positive for an amphetamine. Rather, Welker became the 33rd player suspended for at least Week 1 of the NFL season, which commences on Thursday.

The staggering total -- fueled mostly by violations of league drug policy -- is 60 precent more than the start of the 2013 season, according suspensions tracked by SporTrac.com and SB Nation. Only three players were suspended for factors that weren't at least in part related to banned substances: Rutgers standout and Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (two games for domestic violence), Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather (one game for illegal hit during the preseason) and Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent (10 games for intoxication manslaughter conviction in January).

A revamped drug policy -- which would likely alter how the league tests for marijuana, one of the most flagged drugs -- could cause that number to drop next season, but there's a caveat. Any change would mean the inclusion of testing for human growth hormone, something the NFL Players Association has balked at for years.

"The players believe that neutral arbitration for all cases under the drug policy is important for players of today and tomorrow," Brian Waters, a former Pro Bowl guard and member of the NFLPA's executive committee, told NJ.com in an email. "Currently, the NFL has taken the position that NFL players should not be able to appeal to a neutral arbitrator in cases when there is not a positive test. This position falls short of the current policy in Major League Baseball."

The NFLPA wants an independent arbitrator to be available to players who are linked to banned substances through law enforcement and other non-testing means. Players already have the right to appeal to an arbitrator when a positive test arises.

Currently, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has the final say on so-called non-analytical positives such as what baseball dealt with in the BALCO and Biogenesis scandals just as Goodell does for violations to the league's personal conduct policy.

A message left with an NFL spokesman for this story was not returned.

"The only reason we do not have a new comprehensive policy right now is because of the NFL's desire to deny players the right to a neutral arbitrator in all cases," Waters added.

A new deal would likely mean raising the testing threshold for THC (the major active ingredient in marijuana), something the World Anti-Doping Agency has already done to reduce the risk of an athlete testing positive due to second-hand smoke. A few players who tested positive for pot may have escaped punishment had a new agreement been put in place, including Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon (one year suspension) and former Giants and current Ravens defensive back Will Hill (six games).

"The current rules are what they are, and a player is responsible for what is in his body," said Ron Slavin, the agent for suspended Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick, in a statement, per Pro Football Talk. "However, I would like it known that it is my understanding that if the current proposed agreement related to HGH testing would have already been instituted, a very significant percentage of the players receiving ‘PED’ suspensions since the new CBA took effect would not have been suspended."

Scandrick, who declined to comment when contacted by NJ.com, has a point. The league has said among the changes in a new drug agreement would be moving Adderall from the performance-enhancing drug policy to the substance of abuse policy. As a PED, the use of Adderall without a therapeutic use exemption results in an automatic four-game suspension; drugs of abuse results in a treatment program and a player is only suspended for repeated positive tests.

But it all goes back to HGH, an injectable that aids in recovery and helps built lean muscle mass. The NFL and NFLPA originally agreed to test for the substance -- something Major League Baseball has done for a couple seasons -- as part of the new CBA three years ago.

The NFLPA, however, has held up testing, but the there seems to be inertia toward an agreement --- especially when a player such as Gordon has to sit out an entire year for something that has nothing to do with HGH or any other performance-enhancing drug.

There's also another reason an HGH test could soon be pushed into use. A source on Capitol Hill, who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told NJ.com that key members of the House of Representatives continue to monitor the progress toward an agreement to test for HGH.

"There are no hearing scheduled, but that remains a possibility," the source said.

"I now know, that (drug-policy procedures) are clearly flawed, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they are corrected, so other individuals and teams aren't negatively affected so rashly like this," Welker said.